What Little That Remains
by Max Jive
Summary: CATS fic. I had this idea ever since I first saw the show about how things -really- run.
1. Introductions

Right, right. Characters and all belong to T.S. Eliot, ALW, RUG, everyone but me. I just play in their sandbox.  
  
Alright, ladies and gents. This idea has been swirling around in my head ever since I saw the show. The story takes place one year after the Jellicle Ball depicted in the show, so it would be the next Jellicle Ball. Everyone's a little bit more grown up now, and some people are even feeling old. Grizabella, however has not been 'reborn' into this story. She's off in the Heavyside somewhere.   
  
Let's clear the ages up, considering ages vary fic to fic, show to show.  
  
Seniors -   
Gus  
Old Deuteronomy  
  
Older Adults -   
Skimbleshanks  
Jennyanydots  
Bustopher Jones  
Jellylorum  
  
Adults-  
Munkustrap  
Demeter  
Bombalurina  
Rum Tum Tugger  
Coricopat  
Tantomile  
Alonzo  
Cassandra  
Bill Bailey  
  
Young Adults-  
Mungojerrie  
Rumpelteazer  
Mistofelees  
Victoria  
Tumblebrutus  
Carbucketty   
Sillabub  
Etcetera  
Victor  
  
Oh, before you get started.. reviews rock my casbah.   
  
Alright, continue! 


	2. Chapter The First

"The Rum Tum Tugger is..."   
  
"Old!"   
  
A chorus of giggles went around at that. The kittens, or should we say young toms and queens, were lazing about, all strewn across an oversized tire. It was late afternoon, and while the young adult cats were trying to appear calm about the situation, they were all tingling with excitement on the inside. Tonight was the Jellicle Ball!  
  
"The Rum Tum Tugger is.."  
  
"Awful annoying!"   
  
More giggles. This time they came from a pair of passing queens, Demeter and the Gumbie Cat herself, Jennyanydots.  
  
Carbucketty climbed to his feet and stretched, pushing backwards and raising his back high into the air. Victoria swiped halfheartedly at his tail, yawning. Carbucketty rewarded her actions by swishing the furry appendage back and forth a few times before crawling off the tire.  
  
There was a loud crashbangboom from a pile of junk to their left. Two orange and red heads poked through the mess, followed by a blur of fur the same color and a string of giggles that collided with Carbucketty. The young cats on the tire exchanged glances with each other and laughed after a minute.   
  
"Oh dear. We're sorry!" Mungojerrie untangled himself from the pile and patted Carbucketty on the head roughly with a furry paw. Carbucketty twisted himself into a sitting position, staring at the other male, tail twitching back and forth. Mungojerrie grinned toothily.  
  
"Eh, I think we better get outta here, Mungojerrie." Rumpelteazer nudged her partner in crime with a shoulder. Carbucketty rumbled in agreement, ducking away from Mungojerrie's hand. The two flashed Carbucketty a cheeky grin before turning to run..  
  
.. and thwacking right into Munkustrap.   
  
"Wasn't us!" Rumpelteazer cried.   
  
"Yea! We didn't do it!" Mungojerrie added. The silver tabby cocked his head, staring at the two.  
  
"What in the blue blazes are you talking about?" he blinked.  
  
"Nothing!" they cried in unison and wheeled around, darting in the other direction and leaving Munkustrap staring at Carbucketty.  
  
"Should I even ask?" the leader grinned.  
  
"Hmph. I don't like those two. I just have a feeling." Carbucketty snorted and walked himself under the older cat's chin. "Don't you?"   
  
"I would be outright lying if I said I didn't have a feeling about the whole lot of you kittens." Munkustrap gave a swat to the younger male's tail. "You shouldn't judge."  
  
"I am not a kitten anymore!" Carbucketty sat, drawing himself up as puffed and as proud as he could be. Munkustrap smirked, nodding and reached a paw out, poking Carbucketty's stomach. The younger cat slouched immediately. "Hey!"  
  
"Don't be so quick to grow up." Munkustrap tapped him on the nose. "Enjoy it while you can." the silver tabby smiled and brushed past the young tom. Carbucketty was left with his whiskers twitching, annoyed.   
  
"I hate it when he does that." he muttered.   
  
"Does what?" came a curious voice from behind him. Etcetera grinned, one claw toying with the end of Carbucketty's tail.  
  
"Hn. Nothing." Carbucketty smiled back, and curled his tail around him. Sometime awhile back the young queens of the tribe had decided that his tail was their new play thing. Anytime it twitched was an invitation to step on it, pounce on it, bite it, or take a swing at it. Alonzo, another older tom, had told him it was the queen's way of flirting with him. Personally, Carbucketty thought if that were the case, then queens were definitely a strange species.  
  
"Y'sure?" Etcetera tilted her head. Carbucketty nodded, and out of the corner of his eyes he saw two grey figures slink by, in perfect sync with each other.   
  
"Excited?" Tantomile crooned in the other cat's general direction.   
  
"You bet!" Ectetera winked at the disappearing pair.  
  
"Those two scare me sometimes, doing that twin thing. Gives me heebie-jeebies." Carbucketty shuddered to make his point. Etcetera nodded blankly, staring over his shoulder. Carbucketty had enough time to glance behind him in time to see a mesh of white and brown fur hurtling towards him.  
  
"Super Tumblebrutuuuuus!" the attacking tom shouted and hit Carbucketty full force, sending them both rolling.   
  
"You!" Carbucketty sucked in the air that was knocked out of him on impact, swiping his claws.   
  
"Me!" Tumblebrutus grinned, pointing a claw at himself. Etcetera was off to the side, rolling with giggles.   
  
"You!" Carbucketty repeated, glaring at the queen. She held his stare straight faced for a few moments, before disolving into laughter again. Tumblebrutus rolled off of his friend, stretching his front paws forward. Carbucketty was up in a tick, and launched himself at Etcetera. He tackled her, and set to tickling her sides relentlessly.  
  
"Nooo..gah!" she shrieked and thrashed around. Tumblebrutus watched cautiously, before straightening up and clearing his throat.  
  
"This looks like a job for..."   
  
"Oh no." Carbucketty and Etcetera exchanged worried looks.  
  
"Super TUMBLEBRUTUUUUUUS!" the young tom bellowed and jumped into the pile.  
  
***  
  
Munkustrap watched the younger cats pile on top of each other from inside his shipping box and sighed, resuming his pacing.  
  
He didn't feel much like a leader at the moment. In fact, he felt.. old. The silver tabby's mind was reeling with thoughts about the night ahead of them. The safety of the tribe, mostly. The last incident with Macavity was a real scare, they'd almost lost Old Deuteronomy. He turned on one back heel to walk to the other end of his box. Alonzo watched him with tired eyes.  
  
"Stop it." he said. Munkustrap turned his head towards him, blinking.  
  
"Huh?"   
  
"Stop. Pacing. You're making me seasick." Alonzo crossed his eyes to reiterate his point.  
  
"Eh. Sorry." the grey cat shook his head and laid down, crossing his paws and resting his head on them.  
  
"What's the problem, mister?" Alonzo prodded Munkustrap in the side with a claw gently. Outside the box, another shout of "Super TUMBLEBRUTUUUUUS!" could be heard, followed by more giggles.  
  
"I'm worrying." Munkustrap nodded.  
  
"About what?"   
  
"Do I need a reason? It's my job." he said slyly. Alonzo walked around to face Munkustrap and sat, waving his tail in front of the older cat's face.   
  
"Sounds like a bum job to me." he shrugged.  
  
"Yeah.. I didn't exactly sign up for it, you know." the silver tabby snorted.   
  
"Stupid leadership skills! Gosh, man. How unfortunate." Alzono shook his head almost sadly. Munkustrap nodded in agreement, one paw darting out and pinning Alonzo's tail to the ground.   
  
"Y'know what?" Alonzo sighed, scooting his tail away from Munkustrap's hand and behind himself. Obviously Munkustrap didn't know the rules of the game, here.  
  
"What?" the leader sighed.  
  
"I have had to listen to a whole week of your whining, man. Now you're making me sad." Alonzo came around to Munkustrap's side and nudged. The tabby wouldn't move.   
  
"What're you doing?" Munkustrap asked, amused. Alonzo backtracked a few steps and ran forward, headbutting him in the side. This time he scooted a few inches towards the exit.   
  
"Get. Out." he grunted, his head pressed firmly in the leader's side.   
  
"Why?" Munkustrap whined, hiding his head in his paws.   
  
"We're going on a field trip." Alonzo said, backing away and waiting for the other cat to move his body. Munkustrap made a large show of picking himself to his feet, hemming and hawing the whole way.  
  
"Where to?" he asked and glanced outside.   
  
"Just move." Alonzo nodded forwards, and stayed behind the silver tabby in case he got any ideas.   
  
The young adults of the junkyard hopped around them excitedly, spouting off ten questions at a time. Finally Alonzo halted Munkustrap and raised his head.   
  
"PAUSE!"   
  
All the kittens froze.  
  
"We're on official business, okay? Top secret stuff. So we can't tell you, we just have to go." he said in a whisper, playing on with the game.   
  
"What kind of mission?" Carbucketty whispered back.  
  
"A top secret mission, goofball!" Electra shook her head at the young tom.   
  
"Like a mission where Growltiger tries to rescue the Lady Griddlebone?" Mistofelees asked brightly, leaning towards Victoria with a kiss ready. His forehead was met with a white paw and pushed away.  
  
"In your dreams, tom." she giggled. All the other kittens snickered as well. Alonzo glanced around boredly for a few more minutes, counting to some secret number.  
  
"O-kay! Time for us to go. You all stay here, don't get into trouble and all." he nodded towards the young cats and prodded Munkustrap. "Move."  
  
"Yessir." Munkustrap snorted and moved on.   
  
They were nearing a familiar place. An old, rusted out green car which Jennyanydots had made nice to live in again. She'd strung scraps of fabric along the windows for privacy, and sought out a many fluffy blankets and pillows to line the front and back seat with one blanket separating the front from the back. The only window that wasn't completely covered was the front windshield, because Jennyanydots liked to sun herself on the dashboard during the day.  
  
"Oooh laaaadies!" Alonzo howled towards the car, and four faces appeared in the open window.   
  
"My my my, what a pleasant suprise!" Jennyanydots grinned and waved them over.   
  
"What brings you to this side of town, tiger?" Bombalurina hopped down from inside the car and stalked towards Alonzo, tail flicking.   
  
"My man here is down in the dumps. Think he needs some female attention." the black and white tom said, butting heads gently with Bombalurina.  
  
"Well, you don't say?" Jennyanydots stroked her furry chin in thought. "You know, in my house when the humans are feeling down they take some Wart, I think it's called."  
  
"They eat warts?" Bombalurina blinked. Jennyanydots nodded enthusiastically.  
  
"Honey, I don't know why you hang around those two-leggers. Nothing but a whole bunch'a work, if you ask me." Bombalurina said and cooed, scratching under Alonzo's chin with a single claw. The tom closed his eyes and purred.   
  
"I thought I was the one who needed some attention, here?" Munkustrap snorted, flicking his tail in Bombalurina and Alonzo's general direction.   
  
"I ain't so sure I'm the one for that, tiger." Bombalurina winked and stalked away, sliding her tail along Alonzo's body. Alonzo's whiskers twitched wildly.  
  
"What's the matter, Munkustrap?" Jennyanydots had jumped down and was now doting over the silver tabby, circling him to make sure nothing was wrong, patting fur there and smoothing it there. Munkustrap watched her with a slight grin.   
  
"He's a sourpuss, that's what." Alonzo licked one of his paws and straightened his whiskers.   
  
"Y'don't say?" Demeter was lounging on the car window, one front paw handing over the side. Skimbleshanks sat on the dashboard behind her, tail twitching back and forth. Munkustrap shook his paw away from Jennyanydots, who had picked it up and was sniffing it intently.   
  
"Eh. There's nothing wrong with me." he said and gave a pat to Jennyanydots' head. "I'll be fine."  
  
"Promise?" the Gumbie Cat stared up at Munkustrap, concern still in her eyes. The silver tabby nodded.  
  
"Promise."   
  
"Eh, hm. That's all well and good but before everyone came and interrupted my sleepin', I was actually sleepin'. I would like to get some sleep in before tonight, yes. Considerin' tomorrow I have to get back to the train and all. Sleep would be nice." Skimbleshanks scratched behind his ear with a back paw.  
  
"Y'sure all you're gonna do is sleep, old man?" Alonzo snickered and glanced at Jennyanydots.   
  
"If I wasn't trying to get any SLEEP, I'd come down there and teach you a thing or two about respect, kitten." Skimbleshanks muttered and disappeared down into the seat. Alonzo flicked his tail at the older cat and swaggered away with a loud meow. A move that came from the Rum Tum Tugger, no doubt.  
  
Demeter had taken the orange cat's hint and slid down to the ground, kicking the door a good kick with her back feet and was rewarded with muttering from inside.   
  
"Sounds like you aren't the only one who needs some attention." she said, joining Munkustrap and Jennyanydots.  
  
"Looks like a job for the Gumbie Cat." Munkustrap tilted his head towards her.   
  
"Oh. Oh my!" Jennyanydots giggled and blushed brightly, ducking her head. "Well, now. I guess you two should run along then." she giggled and fluffed Munkustrap's and Demeter's fur, before giving them a pat.  
  
"Go, go on!" she shooed them with her paws. They grinned and turned to leave, tails waving a goodbye.   
  
"What's really getting your whiskers in a twist?" Demeter asked and leaned into Munkustrap's side as they walked.  
  
"I'm stressed."   
  
"Who wouldn't be?"   
  
"I'm worried."  
  
"Understandable."  
  
"I'm afraid I won't be able to do my job right."  
  
"We won't let you do it wrong, Munkustrap." Demeter smiled reassuringly at him.   
  
"I'm dirty." he said and slid his eyes sideways at her.  
  
"Need a bath, eh?"   
  
"Is that an invitation?" he said and rubbed his shoulder against hers.  
  
"What do you think?" Demeter's whiskers twitched.  
  
"Sounds marvelous!" Munkustrap laughed, the first time he had all day. The pair scooted off to somewhere a bit more private place, as cleaning and the like should always be done in private. 


	3. Chapter The Second

"Okay, okay. Here's how we'll do it, right? I'll be Alonzo, and you be Macavity." Victor said, motioning to Mistofelees.   
  
"I was Macavity last time! I don't wanna get beat up!" the magical cat whined.   
  
"Well I wanna be Alonzo, so I am!" Victor growled.   
  
"No, I'm Alonzo! We practiced it like that before!" Mistofelees rumbled back.  
  
"No, I'm Alonzo."  
  
"No! We are!" Victor and Mistofelees shouted at the intruder, only to find that it was.. Alonzo.   
  
"What's going on? Aren't you a bit old to be playing kitten games?" Alonzo sat between the two young toms. Bill Bailey and Cassandra watched with curiosity.   
  
"We're not playing a game." Mistofelees sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.   
  
"We're practicing!" Victor looked at Alonzo boredly.  
  
"Whatcha practicing?" Bill Bailey asked, tilting his head to the side.   
  
"Well.." Victor looked at Mistofelees, who nodded.   
  
"We were going to put on a show for Old Deuteronomy." he said carefully. The three older cat's eyebrows flew up.  
  
"That sounds interesting!" Cassandra nodded. "What is it about?"   
  
"The fight from last year when Macavity came." Victor blurted out, suddenly excited. "One of use is going to be Macavity and the other is going to be Alonzo and we're gonna fight like you did and in the end Macavity's gonna get beat up and then we're gonna save Demeter and.."  
  
"Pause!" the real Alonzo lodged a paw between Victor's jaws. "You need three people if you're going to act out the fight." he said. Bill Bailey and Cassandra gave a nod in the background. Cassandra could almost see the question mark appearing over the young tom's head.  
  
"Munkustrap." Bill Bailey leaned forward and whispered. Mistofelees shot up like a bullet.   
  
"Oh yeah! How could we forget?" he shook his head and glanced at Victor, who shrugged.  
  
"Both of you can be someone that's not Macavity." Bill Bailey smiled and nodded, content with his statement.   
  
"Then we still need someone to play Macavity.." Victor mumbled.   
  
"What about Alonzo?" Cassandra said slyly and smirked at his reaction.  
  
"Eh, no. Too skinny to be Macavity." Mistofelees wrinkled his nose.   
  
"How about Cassandra as Dee-mee-ter." Alonzo shot back, sticking out his tounge.   
  
"No, she's much bigger than Demeter." Mistofelees shook his head. Alonzo laughed at Cassandra's insulted look. Her sleek fur lifted for a moment and she shook her body out with a growl.   
  
"Sorry." Mistofelees grinned shyly, one ear turning forward.  
  
"Uh-huh." she said, giving him a look. Victor snickered, and also received a glare from Cassandra. Alonzo suddenly tensed, his ears laying flat on his head.   
  
"Get back!" he hissed, and herded the group deeper into the box where they'd found Victor and Mistofelees arguing. "Humans." he whispered.   
  
"I knew I heard them around here somewhere, Daddy. I swear I did!" a high pitched voice floated by them, grinding on their sensitive jellicle ears.   
  
"I believe you, sweetie. There's cats all over this junk yard. Be carful, though. One of them could have a disease. Ask me before you touch them, okay?" a deeper, adult sounding voice sounded.   
  
"Okay." the high pitched one answered back.   
  
Alonzo's tail twitched back and forth nervously, ears fully erect and listening to the movements of the humans outside of the box. Victor had never seen a human, nor warned about the danger they could bring. He thought this was all a game of hide and seek and dismissed Alonzo's urgency by jumping on his tail with a crunch.  
  
"HEAVYSIDE!" Alonzo shrieked, making all the cats in the box jump. Victor burst into a fit of laughter and was silenced immediately by four pairs of paws landing on his muzzle. He yelped and muttered, rubbing his nose.   
  
Suddenly their view on the world shifted as the box was turned from its side to upright, sending all the cats scrambling for balance. Alonzo was the first one to stand again, and looked around the box at the others.  
  
"Whatever you do - don't bite them, and stick together. They'll probably leave us alone any ways." he said, and was rewarded with four nods.   
  
"Look, daddy! That one is talking to the others!" the high pitched voice rang out again, making Cassandra flatten her ears back. Two shadows appeared over them, they were the humans the voices belonged to.   
  
"Well, look what you found. A whole bunch of cats." the older voice said.   
  
"Jellicles." all the cats in the box corrected at once, causing the little girl to squeal.   
  
"They said hello! They said hello! Can I hold one? Plllleaaase?" the smaller human batted her eyelashes at the bigger one, who sighed.   
  
"Let me see if they're friendly first, okay?" he scratched his chin. The little girl nodded frantically.   
  
The human known as "Daddy" reached his hand down in the middle of their group.   
  
"Whoa!" Mistofelees backed away from the hand, crashing into Bill Bailey.   
  
"It's alright, lad. He wants us to sniff 'em and look interested." the older cat nodded towards the human hand, which Victor was now pawing at. The man wiggled his fingers around and Victor latched onto one, tail lashing back and forth behind him. Soon all the cats were crowded around the human's hand except for Cassandra who hung back and watched pensively.   
  
"They don't look mean, daddy. Can I hold one?" the little girl tugged on her father's coat sleeve with the force of a tractor. He nodded and curled his other arm around the little girl, leaving one hand inside the box so that the cats would get used to his scent.   
  
"Which one, darling?"   
  
"That one!" the little girl pointed to Alonzo without any hesitation. "I think that's the mommy cat."  
  
"Mommy cat!?" Alonzo protested as he was lifted from the box and placed in the little girl's arms. "I'm insulted." he said. The little girl giggled and rubbed the top of his head.   
  
"I think she likes me." the girl said and pointed to Bill Bailey. "You can hold that one, Daddy."   
  
Daddy hefted Bill Bailey into his arms and gave the tom a pat on the head. Bill Bailey shifted around to get comfortable, looking dignified.   
  
"Do you think this is the daddy cat?" Daddy asked. the little girl nodded and turned Alonzo around so that him and Bill Bailey were face to face.   
  
"Well, hello there my darlin' Mommy Cat." Bill Bailey waggled his eyebrows at Alonzo, who was clearly not happy.   
  
"These two are the mommy and daddy of those in there." the little girl pointed to Victor and Mistofelees. Victor was leaning against the side of the box, watching the goings-on between the humans and his friends curiously.   
  
"Don't you think that one could be the mommy of everyone?" the dad asked and pointed out Cassandra. She was still in the corner looking bored, tail lashing back and forth by her side. The little girl shook her head.  
  
"That's too big to be a mommy cat!" she protested. Cassandra snorted and turned, gracefully vaulting herself out of the box and walking away, leaving Mistofelees and Victor snickering in her wake.   
  
The child pressed Alonzo and Bill Bailey closer together with a squeal. "I think these two are soooooo CUTE together!" she giggled. Bill Bailey tilted his head forward and licked Alonzo's nose, quite enjoying the part.   
  
"Meow." Alonzo said in a deadpan voice and went limp in the girl's hands. She dumped him roughly back into the box and bend forward to closer examine Victor and Mistofelees. Meanwhile, Bill Bailey was content to sit in the man's lap like a sack of potatoes and purr while his ears were scratched.  
  
"That's a goooood human." he mewled, closing his eyes. "Oh, yes. A little lower.. oooh!" he dug the heels of his paws into the man's leg, who grinned.   
  
Victor meowed loudly at the little girl, demanding he be picked up as well. She went for Mistofelees instead, plucking him up and squeezing him to her chest.   
  
"Fluffy!" she cried.   
  
"Mistofelees." he corrected.   
  
"Aww, he meowed his name, Daddy! What a smart kitty Fluffy is!" she squeezed him tight again.   
  
"Don't squeeze him so hard, dear." the father said and put Bill Bailey back in the box with a loud protest from the hefty tom.   
  
"Can I keep Fluffy?" the little girl put on her best doe-eyed face.  
  
"I don't know.. we'd have to take him to the vet before we took him home."   
  
Mistofelees was not liking the way the conversation was going. He meowed loudly and glanced back in the box.   
  
"Pleasedaddyplease!?" the little girl shrieked.   
  
"Well.. okay. Let's go see if we can find a smaller box to take him in and give him a few moments to say goodbye to his family, then. Put him back in the box for now." the girl's father said, climbing to his feet. The little girl squeezed Mistofelees one more time and placed him back in the box gingerly.   
  
"Let's go!" she cried and pulled her father away. Alonzo waited until the voices had faded before speaking.   
  
"Let's get out of here." he shuddered and made a face. They all stunk like humans.   
  
"At your service!" Bill Bailey backed up to one side of the box and ran a few steps, launching himself into the opposite wall. The box went tumbling to its side and all four of them scrambled out, running for cover. Soon they were making their way back to the main part of their territory, trotting happily.   
  
"Wait!" Victor came to a sudden halt and smacked his forehead.   
  
"What?" Alonzo asked, anxious to let Munkustrap in on the human invasion.   
  
"We still don't have a Macavity or Demeter for our skit." Victor whined.   
  
"Well, I'll be your Macavity. Let's go." Alonzo said quickly, urging the group on.   
  
"What about a Demeter? I don't think Cassandra will do it after someone.." he glared at Mistofelees, "insulted her." Victor mumbled.   
  
"I'll be your Demeter." came a voice from behind them. Alonzo turned around and burst into giggles. Bill Bailey waggled his rump and let out a high pitched "Macavity!"  
  
"I'd be perfect for the part." the irish cat said, grinning madly. Victor and Mistofelees' eyes grew wide.   
  
"I'm not picking him -up-!" Victor pawed at the dirt in front of him.  
  
"I don't even think I can." Mistofelees chimed in.   
  
"Yes you can, I don't weigh that much." Bill Bailey snorted and hoisted himself up on his tiptoes. "See? Light as a feathah!"  
  
Alonzo snickered and looked at the young toms who were shakin their heads. "Let's go." he nodded in the direction they were heading.  
  
The quartet continued on their way back to the rest of the tribe, Bill Bailey trailing behind while bellowing a dashing cover of "Macavity" and pausing every now and then to shake his rear end or do some dance step.   
  
****  
  
"Whaaaaat?"   
  
"Get up!"   
  
"Why?"  
  
"Trouble!"   
  
Munkustrap opened a single eye and stared up at Alonzo. Beside him was a warm, fuzzy, sleeping Demeter, and Munkustrap really didn't want to leave his current position unless he really had to.   
  
"What is it?" he yawned groggily, the other eye opening. Alonzo gave a pointed look at the snoozing queen and looked back to Munkustrap. The silver tabby groaned and pulled himself away from her, standing and stretching forward on his paws. "Outside." he said and moved out of the old broken oven.  
  
Dusk was just beginning to set, the sky streaking colors of reds and oranges as the sun set. A cool breeze had settled over the junk yard, rattling old food cans loose and creating new playthings for idle cats. Alonzo and Munkustrap climbed a pile of garbage and sat, satisfied with the general view they had over the other cats.  
  
"There were two humans in the junk yard today." Alonzo's tail swished back and forth.   
  
"We see some humans here on a regular basis." Munkustrap reminded him and licked on of his front paws, smoothing over his ear fur.  
  
"They weren't like the people in those orange suits we see all the time, they don't bother us. There was a big one and a little one. The little one wanted to take Mistofelees home with it." Alonzo studied Munkustrap carefully.   
  
"Take Mistofel.. how many people were involved in this?" Munkustrap said, and Alonzo had his full attention.  
  
"Mistofelees, Victor, Bill Bailey, Cassandra, and myself.." Alonzo said and quickly launched into the story when Munkustrap's ears flattened. The leader waited patiently until Alonzo was finished, before clipping the younger cat on the ear.  
  
"What if they hadn't left? Bill Bailey and Mistofelees could have been taken! You should have avoided them." he hissed.  
  
"I did what I could!" Alonzo growled.   
  
"Not good enough!" Munkustrap rumbled.  
  
"Oh? And where where -you-?" Alonzo shot back. Munkustrap's jaw clamped shut, glaring at the black and white tom.  
  
"I hope we're not interrupting anything.." a soft voice interrupted the two tom's staring match. Alonzo was the first to break the stare between him and Munkustrap, swinging his head to look at the intruders. Sillabub and Victoria stared at the two toms wide-eyed.   
  
"Well, what is it?" Alonzo asked impatiently. Victoria's fur raised slightly at the tom's tone and snorted, nudging Sillabub.  
  
"Victor sent us to get you, Alonzo. Something about being Macavity." the smaller female said and blinked her impossibly wide eyes innocently.   
  
"Tell him I'll be there in a minute." Alonzo muttered and waved them away.   
  
"No, go." Munkustrap said, tail twitching behind him. "I think we're done here." he said, his tone one of warning.  
  
"No we aren't!" Alonzo protested, and was met with a growl. The two young queens watched in silence.  
  
"Oh, but we are." Munkustrap emphasized his last word. Alonzo growled but stood, stalking away from the others down the pile of garbage. Munkustrap turned to the young queens and smiled, wrinkling his nose.  
  
"Toms." he sighed and shook his head, causing the girls to giggle and scramble down the pile behind Alonzo, leaving Munkustrap to brood.   
  
Humans could be a serious threat to the tribe, and it was true that different kinds had been seen more and more frequently in the junk yard. Munkustrap thought about this, picking his way down the pile to the ground.   
  
Off in the distance he heard a shrill "Macavity!" followed by screams. Munkustrap's head jerked in the direction, his body moving on instinct.   
  
"Tonight is not the night for this to be happening.." Munkustrap growled, racing towards the noise. "Okay, okay. Here's how we'll do it, right? I'll be Alonzo, and you be Macavity." Victor said, motioning to Mistofelees.   
  
"I was Macavity last time! I don't wanna get beat up!" the magical cat whined.   
  
"Well I wanna be Alonzo, so I am!" Victor growled.   
  
"No, I'm Alonzo! We practiced it like that before!" Mistofelees rumbled back.  
  
"No, I'm Alonzo."  
  
"No! We are!" Victor and Mistofelees shouted at the intruder, only to find that it was.. Alonzo.   
  
"What's going on? Aren't you a bit old to be playing kitten games?" Alonzo sat between the two young toms. Bill Bailey and Cassandra watched with curiosity.   
  
"We're not playing a game." Mistofelees sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.   
  
"We're practicing!" Victor looked at Alonzo boredly.  
  
"Whatcha practicing?" Bill Bailey asked, tilting his head to the side.   
  
"Well.." Victor looked at Mistofelees, who nodded.   
  
"We were going to put on a show for Old Deuteronomy." he said carefully. The three older cat's eyebrows flew up.  
  
"That sounds interesting!" Cassandra nodded. "What is it about?"   
  
"The fight from last year when Macavity came." Victor blurted out, suddenly excited. "One of use is going to be Macavity and the other is going to be Alonzo and we're gonna fight like you did and in the end Macavity's gonna get beat up and then we're gonna save Demeter and.."  
  
"Pause!" the real Alonzo lodged a paw between Victor's jaws. "You need three people if you're going to act out the fight." he said. Bill Bailey and Cassandra gave a nod in the background. Cassandra could almost see the question mark appearing over the young tom's head.  
  
"Munkustrap." Bill Bailey leaned forward and whispered. Mistofelees shot up like a bullet.   
  
"Oh yeah! How could we forget?" he shook his head and glanced at Victor, who shrugged.  
  
"Both of you can be someone that's not Macavity." Bill Bailey smiled and nodded, content with his statement.   
  
"Then we still need someone to play Macavity.." Victor mumbled.   
  
"What about Alonzo?" Cassandra said slyly and smirked at his reaction.  
  
"Eh, no. Too skinny to be Macavity." Mistofelees wrinkled his nose.   
  
"How about Cassandra as Dee-mee-ter." Alonzo shot back, sticking out his tounge.   
  
"No, she's much bigger than Demeter." Mistofelees shook his head. Alonzo laughed at Cassandra's insulted look. Her sleek fur lifted for a moment and she shook her body out with a growl.   
  
"Sorry." Mistofelees grinned shyly, one ear turning forward.  
  
"Uh-huh." she said, giving him a look. Victor snickered, and also received a glare from Cassandra. Alonzo suddenly tensed, his ears laying flat on his head.   
  
"Get back!" he hissed, and herded the group deeper into the box where they'd found Victor and Mistofelees arguing. "Humans." he whispered.   
  
"I knew I heard them around here somewhere, Daddy. I swear I did!" a high pitched voice floated by them, grinding on their sensitive jellicle ears.   
  
"I believe you, sweetie. There's cats all over this junk yard. Be carful, though. One of them could have a disease. Ask me before you touch them, okay?" a deeper, adult sounding voice sounded.   
  
"Okay." the high pitched one answered back.   
  
Alonzo's tail twitched back and forth nervously, ears fully erect and listening to the movements of the humans outside of the box. Victor had never had never seen a human, nor warned about the danger he could bring. He thought this was all a game of hide and seek and dismissed Alonzo's urgency by jumping on his tail with a crunch.  
  
"HEAVYSIDE!" Alonzo shrieked, making all the cats in the box jump. Victor burst into a fit of laughter and was silenced immediately by four pairs of paws landing on his muzzle. He yelped and muttered, rubbing his nose.   
  
Suddenly their view on the world shifted as the box was turned from its side to upright, sending all the cats scrambling for balance. Alonzo was the first one to stand again, and looked around the box at the others.  
  
"Whatever you do - don't bite them, and stick together. They'll probably leave us alone any ways." he said, and was rewarded with four nods.   
  
"Look, daddy! That one is talking to the others!" the high pitched voice rang out again, making Cassandra flatten her ears back. Two shadows appeared over them, they were the humans the voices belonged to.   
  
"Well, look what you found. A whole bunch of cats." the older voice said.   
  
"Jellicles." all the cats in the box corrected at once, causing the little girl to squeal.   
  
"They said hello! They said hello! Can I hold one? Plllleaaase?" the smaller human batted her eyelashes at the bigger one, who sighed.   
  
"Let me see if they're friendly first, okay?" he scratched his chin. The little girl nodded frantically.   
  
The human known as "Daddy" reached his hand down in the middle of their group.   
  
"Whoa!" Mistofelees backed away from the hand, crashing into Bill Bailey.   
  
"It's alright, lad. He wants us to sniff 'em and look interested." the older cat nodded towards the human hand, which Victor was now pawing at. The man wiggled his fingers around and Victor latched onto one, tail lashing back and forth behind him. Soon all the cats were crowded around the human's hand except for Cassandra who hung back and watched pensively.   
  
"They don't look mean, daddy. Can I hold one?" the little girl tugged on her father's coat sleeve with the force of a tractor. He nodded and curled his other arm around the little girl, leaving one hand inside the box so that the cats would get used to his scent.   
  
"Which one, darling?"   
  
"That one!" the little girl pointed to Alonzo without any hesitation. "I think that's the mommy cat."  
  
"Mommy cat!?" Alonzo protested as he was lifted from the box and placed in the little girl's arms. "I'm insulted." he said. The little girl giggled and rubbed the top of his head.   
  
"I think she likes me." the girl said and pointed to Bill Bailey. "You can hold that one, Daddy."   
  
Daddy hefted Bill Bailey into his arms and gave the tom a pat on the head. Bill Bailey shifted around to get comfortable, looking dignified.   
  
"Do you think this is the daddy cat?" Daddy asked. the little girl nodded and turned Alonzo around so that him and Bill Bailey were face to face.   
  
"Well, hello there my darlin' Mommy Cat." Bill Bailey waggled his eyebrows at Alonzo, who was clearly not happy.   
  
"These two are the mommy and daddy of those in there." the little girl pointed to Victor and Mistofelees. Victor was leaning against the side of the box, watching the goings-on between the humans and his friends curiously.   
  
"Don't you think that one could be the mommy of everyone?" the dad asked and pointed out Cassandra. She was still in the corner looking bored, tail lashing back and forth by her side. The little girl shook her head.  
  
"That's too big to be a mommy cat!" she protested. Cassandra snorted and turned, gracefully vaulting herself out of the box and walking away, leaving Mistofelees and Victor snickering in her wake.   
  
The child pressed Alonzo and Bill Bailey closer together with a squeal. "I think these two are soooooo CUTE together!" she giggled. Bill Bailey tilted his head forward and licked Alonzo's nose, quite enjoying the part.   
  
"Meow." Alonzo said in a deadpan voice and went limp in the girl's hands. She dumped him roughly back into the box and bend forward to closer examine Victor and Mistofelees. Meanwhile, Bill Bailey was content to sit in the man's lap like a sack of potatoes and purr while his ears were scratched.  
  
"That's a goooood human." he mewled, closing his eyes. "Oh, yes. A little lower.. oooh!" he dug the heels of his paws into the man's leg, who grinned.   
  
Victor meowed loudly at the little girl, demanding he be picked up as well. She went for Mistofelees instead, plucking him up and squeezing him to her chest.   
  
"Fluffy!" she cried.   
  
"Mistofelees." he corrected.   
  
"Aww, he meowed his name, Daddy! What a smart kitty Fluffy is!" she squeezed him tight again.   
  
"Don't squeeze him so hard, dear." the father said and put Bill Bailey back in the box with a loud protest from the hefty tom.   
  
"Can I keep Fluffy?" the little girl put on her best doe-eyed face.  
  
"I don't know.. we'd have to take him to the vet before we took him home."   
  
Mistofelees was not liking the way the conversation was going. He meowed loudly and glanced back in the box.   
  
"Pleasedaddyplease!?" the little girl shrieked.   
  
"Well.. okay. Let's go see if we can find a smaller box to take him in and give him a few moments to say goodbye to his family, then. Put him back in the box for now." the girl's father said, climbing to his feet. The little girl squeezed Mistofelees one more time and placed him back in the box gingerly.   
  
"Let's go!" she cried and pulled her father away. Alonzo waited until the voices had faded before speaking.   
  
"Let's get out of here." he shuddered and made a face. They all stunk like humans.   
  
"At your service!" Bill Bailey backed up to one side of the box and ran a few steps, launching himself into the opposite wall. The box went tumbling to its side and all four of them scrambled out, running for cover. Soon they were making their way back to the main part of their territory, trotting happily.   
  
"Wait!" Victor came to a sudden halt and smacked his forehead.   
  
"What?" Alonzo asked, anxious to let Munkustrap in on the human invasion.   
  
"We still don't have a Macavity or Demeter for our skit." Victor whined.   
  
"Well, I'll be your Macavity. Let's go." Alonzo said quickly, urging the group on.   
  
"What about a Demeter? I don't think Cassandra will do it after someone.." he glared at Mistofelees, "insulted her." Victor mumbled.   
  
"I'll be your Demeter." came a voice from behind them. Alonzo turned around and burst into giggles. Bill Bailey waggled his rump and let out a high pitched "Macavity!"  
  
"I'd be perfect for the part." the irish cat said, grinning madly. 


End file.
